Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I don't know if the original idea for the flush valve method came from Barrel Ponics but I know that is probably where most people learn it.

Eagerly awaiting the mechanical water diverter contraption.

Your new grow beds look really cool! and those strawberry towers are nice too.

OK. Here's a 2-way "valve" design. It's basically a spin-off from my flusher.

It's a gravity fed system so you would have to make sure that the output pipes are capable of draining at the same speed or faster than the input, otherwise it will overflow.



1) System start empty, valve is in the down position which will fill up the chamber.
2) Once the chamber is full, the water flow will go out through output "B". Some of the water will drip through the valve into the water bottle
3) The weight of the bottle will get heavy enough to drop and open the value, allowing water to go out through output "A" instead.
4) As the water leaves the bottle, it will allow the valve to go into the down postion, starting the cycle over again.

Its key to make sure that the valve on the bottom of the bottle lets the water out slower that the valve going into the bottle. This is the timing difference for diverting the water between A & B

I'll put a little thought into doing something with a system that is under pressure......

Here's an update on my greenhouse system. I have a strong 2 month head start over my regular garden, but this 120 square foot building doesn't match my 2500 sq ft garden.

Needless to say, It's great to be able to get some fresh veggies so early! Currently growing: Strawberries, lettuce, radish, green beans, carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, peas, spinach, cucumber, cantaloupe, potatoes, and zucchini.

This is a 180 panoramic that I stitched together. It's a bit funky looking, but it shows everything in that small space. I put a link below it and you should be able to click on it and view the full 12MB version. If you look closely at the middle tower, you can see one large red strawberry....mmmmmm


http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-k ... directlink

I love it. I have just been through your thread and I love your ideas. I hope you don't mind if I pinch your idea of a wood drill for an auger. I was going to make an auger at work but yours is soooo much simpler. I already have a 12VDC motor/gearbox, so there is nothing stopping me now. I will control my auto feeder with my PLC (on a time base), and that will give the finishing touches to my Auto system.

Just a design note on the auger. Using the soda bottle, I've had a few problems with fish flakes or pellets getting stuck in the bottle neck sometimes. You may want to use a wider neck and then let the auger grind up anything that may be slightly too big. Make sure you post pix when it's done!

Thanks for the tip. I will start shopping around for a suitable drill bit this weekend. I still have a bit of "Rudd" money left over from my clay balls purchase.

So how are those clay balls working out for you Bertie... better than the old ones....

Nothing like a GB full of clay balls. Yeah I reckon they will do the trick. I have planted it out with carrots, beetroot and a few parsnips (for the sunday roast). Will post some photos when it looks good.

Here's a little video I took of my system. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU9x_W9X-tM

great video....

how many sq ft of GB do you have in the GH?

thanks
JT

I'm not really sure....but it's hard to walk around in there! I have a double layer on one side made from the 8" ABS. And the towers are vertical. I bet if everything was laid everything out, it would be 100% coverage.

I do know that there's about 1.5 tons (US) of gravel in there!!!

Very enjoyable video W4D!

Whoa you sure have taken automation to a new level. It makes mine look like a beginner. Great video.

a little food from the greenhouse. The is about 1/2 of our greenbeans, and I had to thin out a few carrots since they are pushing themselves out of the little 8" beds. I guess next year I'll plant them in my deep beds.

860 grams of beans, 240 grams carrots. Plenty more carrots on the way.

Also, I picked all the peas. 16 plants produced about one serving. It was a tasty teaser before we pick the ones in the dirt garden in about 6 weeks.



Don't forget to check out my video tour!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU9x_W9X-tM

having a little more fun....

Here's a time-lapsed video of my greenhouse aquaponics transformation. Sorry about the changes in the camera angles and the lighting variations - it's a really crappy webcam. The last frame does have less plants in it since I just ripped out all the beans and started a new batch. I think I may get three growing "seasons" of beans this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWI0GhYa1qs